Hector Soriano:
We return to our examination of the Hall of Fame with a look at one of the most dominant players of all time. Where Robert Jordan represented the heights that a pitcher could reach over an entire career, Hector Soriano represented the height that a pitcher could reach when he was at the absolute top of his game. Soriano's run from 2042 into the 2047 season is a level that is simply unparalleled by anyone else.
In 2030, the San Diego Padres snapped a string of five consecutive last place finishes, won 95 games, finished in first in the NL West, reached its first World Series, and won it handily, outscoring Knoxville 47-15 in a five game cakewalk. The team remained relatively competitive over the next couple of seasons, including a division title in 2033. Thus, when the amateur draft rolled around prior to the 2034 season, the Padres didn't have a particularly high draft pick(as they had been accustomed to throughout the '20s) and didn't really expect their first round pick to be some uber-talent like what might be found at the top of the draft. Furthermore, there really wasn't any pressure to get an immediate impact from their draft picks. With the 13th(of 16) pick, San Diego selected a pitcher by the name of Hector Soriano, and assigned him to the lowest level of the minors.
Soriano spent all of the '34 season at single A, but was rather unimpressive, compiling a 5.02 ERA in 26 starts. The following season, he started off at A-ball again, but made just 2 starts there before being promoted to AA. Though he was a little hittable, his 156/8 K/BB ratio in 120 1/3 innings pitched caught some eyes. His breakout was enough to earn him a look in the majors, but he failed to impress, posting an ERA of 6.00 in 6 starts. In '36, he headed back to AA, and spent the entire year there, whiffing 265 batters in 199 2/3 innings pitched. He did not receive a cup of coffee in the majors that year.
In 2037, Soriano found himself in the Padres' rotation. He made the most of the opportunity, leading the team's starting pitchers in ERA, tying for the team lead in wins, and leading the team in complete games. Unfortunately, San Diego's 90 wins placed the Padres in second place, a single game behind Portland. In 2038, his second full season, Soriano notched 21 wins, finished second in the league in ERA, and struck out 327 batters, and he led San Diego to 104 wins and a division title. Though the Padres would lose to Pittsburgh in seven games in the NLCS, Soriano made his presence known by tossing a shutout in one of his two starts.
In '39, Soriano again led the Padres to a division title, this time leading the league with 24 wins and 354 strikeouts, and finishing second in the ERA race with a 2.56 mark. Those numbers were good enough for his first Cy Young Award. Soriano's postseason performance was not nearly as good, however. He made two starts, lost them both, and surrendered 6 runs in both of them. The latter of the two was the deciding sixth game against Pittsburgh, and the Pirates lit up Soriano for 5 runs in the first inning.
Soriano slipped a bit in 2040, as despite a 21-7 record, his ERA was "only" 3.22 and he struck out "only" 291 batters. San Diego, despite winning 99 games, finished in second place, 9 games behind a powerful Sacramento team that rolled to a World Series title. Soriano bounced back in 2041, finishing with a record of 25-2 and a 2.15 ERA. It was a good enough season to win his second Cy Young Award. But the Padres slumped to a .500 record, and finished in third place. The outlook was about to get worse for San Diego: Hector Soriano would leave as a free agent following the '41 season.
The Portland Trailblazers had largely been a mediocre team(except for a fluke World Series win in 2037) since the powerhouse teams of the early and mid-20's. But in 2041, they put together a strong rotation and beat out the defending champion Sacramento Kings by two games to win the NL West. In the NLCS, they had an extremely powerful Pittsburgh team on the ropes, leading 3 games to 1 after ace Herman Sydow threw a 6-hit shutout in Game 4. But the Pirates won 3 straight to knock off Portland and get to the World Series. So in 2042, the Trailblazers decided to put all their eggs in one basket: Hector Soriano. Portland signed five free agents in the '42 offseason. Four of them were roleplayers signed to deals worth less than $1 million per year. The fifth contract was a 7 year deal worth more than $15 million per year. When the best pitcher in the game is on the market, you can't pass up that opportunity, no matter the price.
The move paid off. Soriano was brilliant, going 28-5 with a 1.50 ERA and 283 strikeouts- good enough for his third Cy Young Award. The 28 wins also set an NL single season record, and tied the major league record. The ERA set a single season record, as well. He also tossed a no-hitter against Hartford in June. Meanwhile, Portland rode baseball's best pitching staff to a 101 win season, and a division title. This time, Portland was able to hold off Pittsburgh. Though the Pirates managed to force a seventh game with a 1-0 nailbiter in Game 6, and though the Pirates got to Soriano for 2 first inning runs in Game 7, the Trailblazers didn't fold. Soriano wasn't at his best, surrendering 4 runs in 8 innings, but Portland's offense came through, and heading into the ninth inning, the Trailblazers led 9-4. Pittsburgh threw one last scare into Portland, scoring 4 runs in the ninth, but the Trailblazers hung on for a 9-8 victory, and for the first time since 2037, Portland was headed to the World Series.
Against Miami, Portland quickly fell into a hole, dropping the first two games. In Game 3, Soriano went the distance, allowing just 1 run and striking out 11, in a 3-1 victory. Portland tied up the series, and then led Game 5 by a score of 4-0 after four innings. Miami crept back into the game, but the Trailblazers led 5-3 heading into the 8th inning. The Dolphins rallied, however, and eventually won in 11 innings. Soriano took the mound in Game 6, and quickly gave up a run in the first inning. He settled down after that, and it remained 1-0 going into the bottom of the fifth. Miami exploded for 4 runs in the fifth inning, and cruised to a 7-3 victory. All of the runs came off of Soriano.
In '43, Soriano outdid himself. He broke the major league record for wins in a season, going 29-3. He broke his own major league record for ERA, posting a 1.43 mark. For good measure, he whiffed 330 batters and threw 11 shutouts. Not surprisingly, he won his fourth Cy Young Award. Portland rolled to 105 wins and another division title, and then knocked off Pittsburgh in 6 games in the NLCS to reach a second World Series in a row.
Once again, they would face Miami. Soriano was ripped for 5 runs in a Game 1 defeat, but Portland bounced back to take a 2 games to 1 lead. On the verge of taking a commanding 3 games to 1 lead, Soriano imploded in the ninth inning of Game 4 and the Dolphins erased a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3. Miami seized the momentum and hung on for a 5-4 victory in Game 5, moving within one win of a second consecutive championship. Portland forced a seventh game, however, winning 5-1 in Game 6. Soriano took the mound once more. The Dolphins jumped on him for two first inning runs. They didn't score again. Portland tied the game in the third, took the lead in the fifth, and ensured the victory with two runs in the eighth inning, for a final of 5-2. Soriano pitched 8 strong innings for the victory. It was Portland's third ever championship.
On Opening Day 2044, Soriano added to his already growing legend. Against Harrisburg, Soriano became only the second pitcher in league history to throw a perfect game(the first being Jack LeCompte in 2015). He overpowered the Capitals' hitters in a 2-0 victory, blowing away 11 batters. The rest of Soriano's season proved to be one for the ages. But for a late season injury, he might very well have won 30 games. Instead, he had to settle for a 28-4 record. He did, however, set another record. For the third consecutive year, he broke the single season ERA record. This time, he posted an astounding 1.28 earned run average. Greatly helping that ERA was the fact that he tossed 12 complete game shutouts. Of course, he was shoe-in for his fifth Cy Young Award. In so doing, he became only the second pitcher to win that many Cy Young Awards(Robert Jordan was the first).
Portland rolled to a franchise-record 114 wins, but would not have the services of the injured Soriano as it prepared to defend its title in the playoffs. The Trailblazers defeated Pittsburgh with relative ease, winning the NLCS in 5 games. With the victory, Portland became only the third franchise to reach three(or more) consecutive World Series. The Pittsburgh Pirates accomplished the feat on four occasions(9 straight appearances from 2007 to 2015; 3 straight from 2017 to 2019; 3 straight from 2021 to 2023; and 5 straight from 2032 to 2036) and the Memphis Grizzlies accomplished the feat once(2008 to 2010). Without Hector Soriano, however, Portland's pitching was unable to hold up against Nashville in the World Series. The Predators raced to a 3 games to none lead, scoring 25 runs in the first three games. The Trailblazers managed to avoid the sweep, winning in Game 4, but they fell in Game 5, giving Nashville the championship.
Soriano returned in 2045 and didn't miss a beat. He went 22-5 with a 1.89 ERA, and threw the third no-hitter of his career, a 10 strikeout affair against Pittsburgh in late April. He also became the first pitcher to win six Cy Young Awards. Portland, meanwhile, survived a fierce challenge by San Jose in the West, barely beating out the Sharks to win the division. Portland finished with 102 wins and won the division by just one game over San Jose. Against Pittsburgh in the NLCS, the Trailblazers forced a seventh game with a 9-4 thumping in Game 6. With Soriano on the mound in Game 7, Portland clung to a 1-0 lead it had established in the first inning. For seven innings, Soriano held the Pirates in check. But in the eighth, it all unraveled. Pittsburgh struck for 5 runs off of Soriano, and that was the ballgame. Portland's bid for a fourth staight World Series appearance came to an end.
In 2046, Soriano posted his fifth consecutive season with an ERA under 2.00, going 22-9 with a 1.81 ERA, and won his seventh Cy Young Award. Portland's hold atop the NL West, however, came to an end. The Trailblazers finished in second place, winning 86 games, but were 7 games behind San Diego.
In 2047, Soriano's run of dominance would come to an abrupt and tragic end. The season began in a typical Soriano fashion: on Opening Day, he threw a 5-hit shutout against Harrisburg. But five days later, while facing the Capitals again, Soriano tore a ligament in his elbow. He would miss the rest of the season. The loss of Soriano was devastating to Portland. Though the pitching was still among the best in the league, it was not enough to overcome the long-neglected offense, which finished dead last in batting average, homeruns, and runs scored. Portland slumped to 75 wins and a fourth place finish.
Soriano returned in 2048 as a shell of his former self. He lost a career high 18 games, and saw his ERA balloon to 4.76. Portland lost 90 games for the first time since 2035. In '49, Soriano became a free agent and returned to where his career began, signing with San Diego. Unfortunately for both the Padres and Soriano, he was finished as an effective major league pitcher. He labored through a disastrous season in which he posted a 6.42 ERA in 17 starts, and missed more than two months due to injuries. San Diego managed to win 86 games, but was a distant second to Sacramento, who won 97. In 2050, Soriano made five dreadful starts and was released before the end of April. He retired after that season.
Simply put, Hector Soriano from about 2042 until the injury in 2047 was the most dominant pitcher ever. Robert Jordan was the greatest strikeout pitcher ever, and was really great for a long period of time. Other pitchers have been great over long periods of time as well. But none of them compare to what Soriano did. Five consecutive full seasons of a sub-2.00 ERA is just ridiculous. I think the only pitcher to come close to Soriano's peak over a sustained period of time is Segundo Narbaiza. Not surprisingly, Soriano's seven Cy Young Awards remained unmatched until Narbaiza won his seventh in 2081.
At the time of his retirement, Soriano ranked second all time in ERA, 0.01 behind the leader, Manuel Reno. Reno was at 2.54 and Soriano was at 2.55. He ranked 9th all time in wins, 13th in strikeouts, 3rd in complete games, and 1st in shutouts. Today, he ranks third in ERA(guess who ranks 1st now... yep, Segundo Narbaiza at 2.41), 20th in wins, 25th in strikeouts, tied for 7th in complete games, and second in shutouts(any guesses as to who is first now? Yep, it's Mr. Narbaiza).
His 29 wins in 2043 remain the major league record, as does his 1.28 ERA in 2044. His 12 shutouts in 2044 are also a single season record. He is also the only pitcher to have thrown three no-hitters.
The one question that comes to mind when looking at Soriano's career is: What if the injury didn't happen? Given his track record from previous seasons, Soriano probably lost about 20 wins in 2047 because of the injury. An extra 20 wins puts him at 276 wins. Add in the fact that, without the injury, he wouldn't have fallen apart, and he probably lost at least 5 to 10 wins in 2048. Take away the struggles and injuries from 2049, and that's
another 5 to 10 wins that were taken away. My point is, Soriano probably easily wins 300 games without that injury. Not that the lack of doing so takes anything away from his career, but it's interesting to notice how close players get to achieving major milestones and what sometimes keeps them from doing so. More importantly, one also has to wonder just how long Soriano would have been able to maintain his utter dominance if not for the injury. Would he have made it six years with an ERA under 2.00? Seven years? We'll never know.
Soriano's stats:
Code:
Career Pitching Stats
Year G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K CG SHO Teams
2035 6 6 2 2 0 6.00 36.0 48 29 24 10 20 1 0 SD
2037 29 29 14 8 0 3.56 217.1 212 91 86 35 146 9 0 SD
2038 35 35 21 6 0 2.45 282.1 235 84 77 27 327 16 5 SD
2039 36 36 24 8 0 2.56 285.0 246 85 81 41 354 11 5 SD,NL
2040 35 35 21 7 0 3.22 276.2 261 110 99 41 291 12 1 SD,NL
2041 32 32 25 2 0 2.15 259.0 206 69 62 42 264 12 2 SD,NL
2042 35 35 28 5 0 1.50 288.2 180 50 48 34 283 18 8 POR,NL
2043 37 37 29 3 0 1.43 315.2 179 57 50 35 330 25 11 POR,NL
2044 33 33 28 4 0 1.28 275.0 177 41 39 24 284 22 12 POR,NL
2045 34 34 22 5 0 1.89 271.2 164 62 57 27 283 15 6 POR,NL
2046 37 37 22 9 0 1.81 299.0 189 69 60 45 303 15 5 POR,NL
2047 2 2 2 0 0 1.17 15.1 12 4 2 3 12 1 1 POR
2048 35 35 10 18 0 4.76 234.2 252 140 124 53 147 9 1 POR
2049 17 17 7 5 0 6.42 89.2 119 67 64 36 36 0 0 SD
2050 5 5 1 3 0 9.13 23.2 35 26 24 16 8 0 0 SD
Total 408 408 256 85 0 2.55 3169.2 2515 984 897 469 3088 166 57
Career Minor League Pitching Stats
Year G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K CG SHO
2034, A 26 26 9 13 0 5.02 181.0 224 111 101 27 159 8 0
2035, A 2 2 0 2 0 6.00 12.0 16 8 8 1 16 1 0
2035, AA 16 16 6 3 0 3.29 120.1 133 46 44 8 156 1 0
2036, AA 27 27 9 9 0 3.83 199.2 232 88 85 32 265 4 1
2049, AAA 4 4 2 2 0 2.70 23.1 18 9 7 12 23 0 0
Career Postseason Pitching Stats
Year G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K CG SHO
2038 2 2 1 1 0 2.12 17.0 12 5 4 3 9 2 1
2039 2 2 0 2 0 7.15 11.1 16 12 9 6 13 0 0
2042 5 5 4 1 0 2.76 42.1 30 13 13 6 37 3 1
2043 5 5 3 1 0 3.00 42.0 36 14 14 2 46 2 0
2045 3 3 0 1 0 3.05 20.2 17 7 7 5 25 0 0
Total 17 17 8 6 0 3.17 133.1 111 51 47 22 130 7 2
Career Batting Stats
Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Teams
2035 6 15 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 8 0 0 .133 .133 .200 .333 SD
2037 29 75 16 2 1 0 3 7 1 32 0 0 .213 .224 .267 .490 SD
2038 35 93 20 1 0 1 8 9 7 40 0 0 .215 .270 .258 .528 SD
2039 36 100 21 4 0 1 9 11 5 39 0 0 .210 .248 .280 .528 SD,NL
2040 35 91 17 4 0 0 7 12 10 34 0 0 .187 .267 .231 .498 SD,NL
2041 32 88 23 2 0 0 13 6 4 32 0 0 .261 .293 .284 .578 SD,NL
2042 35 102 25 7 0 0 6 6 4 41 0 0 .245 .274 .314 .587 POR,NL
2043 37 115 28 7 0 0 7 11 4 49 0 0 .243 .269 .304 .573 POR,NL
2044 33 98 28 2 1 0 12 9 4 36 2 1 .286 .314 .327 .640 POR,NL
2045 34 91 22 6 0 0 7 8 4 42 0 0 .242 .274 .308 .581 POR,NL
2046 37 108 19 2 0 1 7 7 5 42 0 0 .176 .212 .222 .435 POR,NL
2047 2 6 3 1 0 1 4 2 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 1.167 1.667 POR
2048 35 76 11 2 0 0 3 8 5 37 0 0 .145 .198 .171 .369 POR
2049 17 29 5 2 0 0 2 2 1 15 0 0 .172 .200 .241 .441 SD
2050 5 6 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 SD
Total 408 1093 240 43 2 4 89 100 54 450 2 1 .220 .256 .274 .530
Player History
Drafted in 1st round, 13th overall pick, by San Diego in 2034...
Earned first career win on 5/7/2035...
Had first career hit on 5/17/2035, off Tomas Govea (HFD)...
Injured on 8/14/2035 with a Strained Back Muscle, out for one week...
Hit first career homerun on 5/14/2038, off Jeffrey Belue (Buf)...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 9/1/2038, going 4-1, 1.41...
Struck out 15 batters against Hartford on 5/1/2039...
Was selected to the 2039 Allstar game...
Struck out 18 batters against Harrisburg on 7/27/2039...
Struck out 17 batters against San Jose on 8/21/2039...
Struck out 16 batters against Buffalo on 9/21/2039...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/22/2039, winning 2 games with a 0.52 ERA...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 10/1/2039, going 5-0, 0.62...
Won Cy Young Award in 2039, going 24-8, 2.56 ERA...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 6/1/2040, going 6-0, 1.94...
Struck out 15 batters against Rochester on 6/17/2040...
Was selected to the 2040 Allstar game...
Struck out 15 batters against Buffalo on 7/27/2040...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/23/2041, winning 2 games with a 0.51 ERA...
Was selected to the 2041 Allstar game...
Injured on 8/6/2041 with a Pulled Tricep Muscle, out for 3 weeks...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 10/1/2041, going 6-0, 1.85...
Won Cy Young Award in 2041, going 25-2, 2.15 ERA...
Signed as a free agent by Portland on 2/3/2042 to a 7-year deal worth $15,078,800 per year...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 6/1/2042, going 5-1, 1.12...
Pitched NO-HITTER against Hartford on 6/23/2042, striking out 9...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/30/2042, winning 2 games with a 1.00 ERA...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 7/1/2042, going 5-1, 0.90...
Was selected to the 2042 Allstar game...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 8/1/2042, going 5-0, 0.63...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 10/1/2042, going 4-1, 1.91...
Won Cy Young Award in 2042, going 28-5, 1.50 ERA...
Won Player of the Week award on 4/28/2043, winning 2 games with a 0.51 ERA...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 5/1/2043, going 6-0, 0.17...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 7/1/2043, going 5-0, 1.04...
Was selected to the 2043 Allstar game...
Struck out 16 batters against Harrisburg on 8/21/2043...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 9/1/2043, going 5-1, 2.08...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 10/1/2043, going 6-0, 1.36...
Won World Series with Portland in 2043...
Won Cy Young Award in 2043, going 29-3, 1.43 ERA...
Pitched PERFECT GAME against Harrisburg on 4/1/2044, striking out 11...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 6/1/2044, going 5-0, 1.08...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/23/2044, winning 2 games with a 0.50 ERA...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 7/1/2044, going 5-0, 1.07...
Was selected to the 2044 Allstar game...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 8/1/2044, going 6-0, 0.52...
Won Player of the Week award on 8/11/2044, winning 2 games with a 0.51 ERA...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 9/1/2044, going 6-0, 0.50...
Injured on 9/20/2044 with a Torn Tricep Muscle, out for 4-5 weeks...
Won Cy Young Award in 2044, going 28-4, 1.28 ERA...
Pitched NO-HITTER against Pittsburgh on 4/28/2045, striking out 10...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 6/1/2045, going 4-1, 1.50...
Was selected to the 2045 Allstar game...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 9/1/2045, going 4-1, 1.53...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 10/1/2045, going 4-2, 1.13...
Won Cy Young Award in 2045, going 22-5, 1.89 ERA...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 5/1/2046, going 5-0, 1.04...
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 7/1/2046, going 5-0, 1.49...
Was selected to the 2046 Allstar game...
Won Cy Young Award in 2046, going 22-9, 1.81 ERA...
Injured on 4/6/2047 with a Torn Ligament Elbow, out for full season...
Signed as a free agent by San Diego on 2/9/2049 to a 3-year deal worth $4,036,500 per year...
Injured on 4/19/2049 with a Strained Bicep Tendon, out for 3 weeks...
Injured on 6/19/2049 with a Ruptured Bicep Tendon, out for 7-8 weeks...
Released by San Diego on 4/28/2050, refused assignment to minors...
Retired and inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2051.
Pitching Leader Boards Appearances
ERA
2038 - 2.45 - 2nd
2039 - 2.56 - 2nd
2040 - 3.22 - 10th
2041 - 2.15 - 1st
2042 - 1.50 - 1st
2043 - 1.43 - 1st
2044 - 1.28 - 1st
2045 - 1.89 - 1st
2046 - 1.81 - 1st
WHIP
2038 - 0.93 - 2nd
2039 - 1.01 - 3rd
2040 - 1.09 - 9th
2041 - 0.96 - 1st
2042 - 0.74 - 1st
2043 - 0.68 - 1st
2044 - 0.73 - 1st
2045 - 0.70 - 1st
2046 - 0.78 - 1st
Wins
2038 - 21 - 3rd
2039 - 24 - 1st
2040 - 21 - 3rd
2041 - 25 - 1st
2042 - 28 - 1st
2043 - 29 - 1st
2044 - 28 - 1st
2045 - 22 - 1st
2046 - 22 - 3rd
Losses
2048 - 18 - 4th
IP
2038 - 282.1 - 1st
2039 - 285.0 - 1st
2040 - 276.2 - 1st
2041 - 259.0 - 4th
2042 - 288.2 - 1st
2043 - 315.2 - 1st
2044 - 275.0 - 3rd
2045 - 271.2 - 2nd
2046 - 299.0 - 1st
K's
2038 - 327 - 2nd
2039 - 354 - 1st
2040 - 291 - 3rd
2041 - 264 - 3rd
2042 - 283 - 2nd
2043 - 330 - 1st
2044 - 284 - 1st
2045 - 283 - 2nd
2046 - 303 - 1st
CG
2037 - 9 - 4th
2038 - 16 - 1st
2039 - 11 - 2nd
2040 - 12 - 2nd
2041 - 12 - 2nd
2042 - 18 - 1st
2043 - 25 - 1st
2044 - 22 - 1st
2045 - 15 - 1st
2046 - 15 - 2nd
2048 - 9 - 3rd
SHO
2038 - 5 - 1st
2039 - 5 - 1st
2040 - 1 - 10th
2041 - 2 - 6th
2042 - 8 - 1st
2043 - 11 - 1st
2044 - 12 - 1st
2045 - 6 - 1st
2046 - 5 - 1st